African Customs

‘Lipombo’, the custom of skull elongation, which was a status symbol among the Mangbetu ruling classes at the beginning of the century evolved into a common ideal of beauty among the peoples of the northeastern Congo. According to Schildkrout and Keim, the tradition survived until the middle of this century, when it was outlawed by the Belgian government ( this woman is unhappy as she has probably just been coerced to remove the tight binding that had been around her child’s head ) ….Read more here